CA Sea Change Atlas
CA Sea Change Atlas
County Profiles Monterey County
Data as of 2026-10-23

Total economy · Monterey County, CA

Total economy

Understanding the businesses at risk from a changing climate is important. This data covers all economic activity occurring in coastal shoreline counties: jobs in banks, grocery stores, local government, and everything in between.

In this profile

  1. If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Protect It 01
  2. Diverse Economies are Resilient Economies 02
  3. Coastal Jobs Are Vulnerable 03
  4. Wages 04
  5. Total Jobs 05
  6. Digging Deeper 06
  7. About this data 07

If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Protect It

1.1%

of all employment in California is in Monterey County.

Establishments
15,910
Jobs
198,525
Wages
$12.63B
GDP (excludes Public administration)
$24.81B

Excludes Public administration.

Sources BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (annual averages) (2025) BEA GDP by state and industry (SAGDP2), California (2025)

Diverse Economies are Resilient Economies

An economy comprised of multiple sectors can better handle disruptions, including storms and economic downturns. Understanding how each sector is represented in your coastal county is important, particularly for hazard mitigation planning.

26.5%

of Monterey County’s workforce works in Natural resources and mining, its largest sector by employment.

Share of the county total, by sector.

Establishments, by sector: Construction 7.7%, Financial activities 5.1%, Education and health services 42.7%, Information 0.6%, Leisure and hospitality 8.2%, Manufacturing 2.1%, Natural resources and mining 3.8%, Other services 6.1%, Professional and business services 9.6%, Public administration 1.1%, Trade, transportation, and utilities 13.0%. Wages, by sector: Construction 5.1%, Financial activities 3.3%, Education and health services 25.2%, Information 0.6%, Leisure and hospitality 8.8%, Manufacturing 2.4%, Natural resources and mining 20.6%, Other services 2.4%, Professional and business services 7.7%, Public administration 10.9%, Trade, transportation, and utilities 13.0%. Employment, by sector: Construction 4.0%, Financial activities 2.1%, Education and health services 21.1%, Information 0.5%, Leisure and hospitality 13.0%, Manufacturing 2.3%, Natural resources and mining 26.5%, Other services 2.8%, Professional and business services 7.0%, Public administration 7.3%, Trade, transportation, and utilities 13.3%. GDP (excludes Public administration), by sector: Construction 4.7%, Financial activities 11.5%, Education and health services 12.7%, Information 0.9%, Leisure and hospitality 8.9%, Manufacturing 3.0%, Natural resources and mining 30.4%, Other services 2.8%, Professional and business services 6.2%, Public administration withheld, Trade, transportation, and utilities 18.8%. Establishments Wages 20.6% Employment 26.5% GDP 30.4%

Share of the county total, by sector: data table

CategoryConstructionFinancial activitiesEducation and health servicesInformationLeisure and hospitalityManufacturingNatural resources and miningOther servicesProfessional and business servicesPublic administrationTrade, transportation, and utilities
Establishments1,2208106,770941,3003265999751,5311782,063
Wages$647.7 million$418.8 million$3.2 billion$74.5 million$1.1 billion$303.4 million$2.6 billion$297.0 million$968.9 million$1.4 billion$1.6 billion
Employment8,0004,21241,8081,06125,8954,51452,5655,65513,95314,53026,324
GDP (excludes Public administration)$1.2 billion$2.9 billion$3.2 billion$218.1 million$2.2 billion$737.9 million$7.5 billion$705.7 million$1.5 billionwithheld$4.7 billion

Shares exclude withheld sectors.

Excludes Public administration.

Sources BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (annual averages) (2025) BEA GDP by state and industry (SAGDP2), California (2025)

Coastal Jobs Are Vulnerable

Many jobs in coastal counties are vulnerable to flooding. This graphic shows the number of jobs threatened by two flood scenarios: current flooding (the 100-year floodplain) and future flooding (six feet of sea level rise).

Potential jobs affected by current flooding

13,216

Potential jobs affected by future flooding

2,059
Sources LEHD LODES8 workplace area characteristics (2023) Census 2020 tabulation blocks (TIGERweb) (2020) FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (2009–2023) NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer inundation extents (2026)

Wages

Understanding the economic vulnerability of the workforce helps leaders better understand the long- and short-term impact of coastal storms, economic downturns, etc. In general, the sectors with the lowest average wages are more likely to be affected.

Leisure and hospitality has the lowest average wage per job in Monterey County.

Average wage per job, by sector.

Construction: County $73,533, Coastal California $90,408, Coastal U.S. $81,228. Financial activities: County $85,812, Coastal California $153,898, Coastal U.S. $150,835. Education and health services: County $72,420, Coastal California $71,683, Coastal U.S. $67,902. Information: County $69,469, Coastal California $253,512, Coastal U.S. $193,507. Leisure and hospitality: County $38,777, Coastal California $42,925, Coastal U.S. $37,140. Manufacturing: County $63,248, Coastal California $136,488, Coastal U.S. $98,915. Natural resources and mining: County $46,809, Coastal California $48,079, Coastal U.S. $76,365. Other services: County $48,964, Coastal California $53,772, Coastal U.S. $54,194. Professional and business services: County $65,077, Coastal California $129,224, Coastal U.S. $111,600. Public administration: County $90,584, Coastal California $108,423, Coastal U.S. $92,868. Trade, transportation, and utilities: County $60,787, Coastal California $72,890, Coastal U.S. $63,631. $0 $100k $200k $300k Construction Financial activities Education andhealth services Information Leisure andhospitality Manufacturing Natural resourcesand mining Other services Professional andbusiness services Public administration Trade, transportation,and utilities

Average wage per job, by sector: data table

CategoryCountyCoastal CaliforniaCoastal U.S.
Construction$73,533$90,408$81,228
Financial activities$85,812$153,898$150,835
Education and health services$72,420$71,683$67,902
Information$69,469$253,512$193,507
Leisure and hospitality$38,777$42,925$37,140
Manufacturing$63,248$136,488$98,915
Natural resources and mining$46,809$48,079$76,365
Other services$48,964$53,772$54,194
Professional and business services$65,077$129,224$111,600
Public administration$90,584$108,423$92,868
Trade, transportation, and utilities$60,787$72,890$63,631

Coastal U.S. means the shoreline counties of 29 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, not the whole country.

Sources BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (annual averages), wages comparison year (2023) NOAA Total Economy (Coastal), shoreline counties of California and of the U.S. (2023)

Total Jobs

Many economic reports don't include the self-employed in their job numbers, yet this group can play an important role in the local economy. Most commercial fishermen, for instance, are self-employed.

6,965

professional and business services workers in Monterey County are self-employed, more than any other sector.

Employed workers, 2025
198,525
Self-employed workers, 2024
28,349
Sources BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (annual averages) (2025) Census Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Digging Deeper

Go further with Monterey County's total economy in the atlas's other tools.

See Monterey County on the map

Opens the map on the county, highlighted.

Compare the flood and sea level rise resources

Explore descriptions fo the different resources available, including those listed in the OPC guidance.

About this data

Data, methods and citation

Snapshot
2026-10-23 · all snapshots
Methodology
Version 1 · what changed

Report a problem with these figures

Some figures are estimated with NOAA's Open ENOW method, and some are withheld. How estimates are made · Why figures are withheld

Recommended citation

California Sea Change Atlas. (2026, October 23). Monterey County coastal county profile: Total economy. https://seachangeatlas.org/county-profiles/county/monterey/2026-10-23/total-economy/

SourcePeriod coveredRetrieved
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (annual averages)20252026-10-22
BEA GDP by state and industry (SAGDP2), California20252026-10-22
LEHD LODES8 workplace area characteristics20232026-10-22
Census 2020 tabulation blocks (TIGERweb)20202026-10-22
FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer2009-04-02 to 2023-11-302026-10-22
NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer inundation extents20262026-10-22
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (annual averages), wages comparison year20232026-10-22
NOAA Total Economy (Coastal), shoreline counties of California and of the U.S.20232026-10-22
Census Nonemployer Statistics20242026-10-22